


Heaven in a Cup

by Xandriaale



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Gen, I figured I'd throw it out here, Maybe I'll actually be inspired to write more, Need to get back into writing, One Shot, This has been sitting in my hard drive for forever, at least for now, this is kind of silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-06 18:04:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16392506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xandriaale/pseuds/Xandriaale
Summary: Garrus Vakarian just wants his hot chocolate.





	Heaven in a Cup

**Author's Note:**

> So this thing has been sitting around in my computer for a little longer than forever, and I decided: why not? We're all here on this earth for a finite amount of time, so why worry about being anonymously embarrassed about kind of silly hot chocolate shenanigans? And the eventual Shit That Goes Down if I can get off my ass to write the convoluted mess that I originally planned for this way back when.

The coffee stand in the middle of the upper wards was always a nightmare, but Garrus was already running late and didn't have time to make it to the one over by Sha'ira's. He really just hoped the human barista made a good turian-friendly hot chocolate. 

A drowsy-looking human, Lara, according to the name-tag, took his order, marking it down on the paper cup and setting it in a line behind several other drinks. The barista making the orders was quick and efficient in her job, fluidly moving between several machines and somehow managing to have a conversation with each customer as she made their order. Garrus was almost impressed, usually when he glanced over on his way to the academy, each machine had its own flustered-looking barista managing it and a large group of unhappy-looking customers near the pick-up counter. Garrus' thoughts were interrupted by a very angry human man in formal attire storming up to the counter just as the barista was about to begin working on his hot chocolate.

"Where is my order?" The man yelled over the noise of the morning commuters, elbowing his way past a salarian balancing his fresh cup of hot tea atop several taped-shut boxes. His hanar companion managed to grab the cup before it fell, trading the salarian for the boxes before both walked away, sipping at their drinks and throwing dirty looks back to the rude man at the counter. "My order should be waiting for me at the To-Go stand. Where is it?" The barista , Shep, he could see her nametag now, sent an apologetic glance Garrus' way before turning back to the man at the counter.

"I'm very sorry sir, but I haven't recieved any to-go orders. What was it that you're waiting on?"

"I shouldn't have to tell you! It should already be there!"

"I am truly very sorry about that sir, but I can't help you if you don't tell me what you would like this morning."

"I want you to find my order!" Shep's shoulders tensed, and Garrus caught a whiff of annoyance, surprised to find it hers, and strong enough that he could pick it out among everyone present, though she hid it amazingly well. He was about to step in to help placate the disgruntled customer when Lara ambled over and tapped Shep on the shoulder.

"Here, Shep. It was never pulled." Meaning, Lara never pulled it. Shep took it with a strained smile, and Garrus was almost excited to watch the lazy human get yelled at, but mostly just wanted his hot chocolate so he could head on in to the academy.

"Sir, I am terribly sorry about our mistake, and I'll make this immediately." Well, that was not the tone he was expecting to hear. She sounded truly sorry, like the incident was actually partially her fault. She set the new cup at the front of the line and started right back into her routine of measuring, pouring, steaming, adding flavor, and Garrus' drink was half done when she handed the other man his cup, two slips of paper tucked in between the cup and the thermal sleeve.

"Here you are, sir. Along with the codes for two free coffees as an apology for the trouble you went through this morning."

"You mean the trouble _you_ put me through!" He retorted, snatching the cup from her hand and nearly spilling it on himself in the process. He would have deserved it.

"Yes, sir. Again, I'm very sorry, but I hope you have a pleasant rest of the day!" The man grumbled something incomprehensible under his breath as he walked away, and Shep turned back to finish up Garrus' drink. "I'm sorry for the scene, your drink will be right out-" The barista made eye contact. "Wait..." She looked at the side of the cup and back up to Garrus. "This is for you, yes?"

"Yes, that's for me." He answered, a bit confused but already believing that she would not be asking without reason, given what he's seen of her so far. His mandibles flared out in surprise when she threw the entire cup down a compactor chute just to the side of her counter.

"I'm going to have to remake it, I'm sorry. There wasn't a mark on the cup signifying which type of chocolate to use, and I just assumed the human-friendly kind would be okay since we don't get very many turian customers." Garrus glanced around and realized that amidst the many different races present he was one of only a handful of non-humans, and in fact the only turian in line. She grabbed a new cup and began searching for the correct chocolate. "Now where did it...." She turned quickly aound in a circle. "...go?" A quick rummage in one of the lower cabinets had her grinning victoriously. "Found it!" In no time at all she had his drink made and was handing it over. "Thank you for your service, officer! Enjoy!"

As Garrus walked away he was struck by two things.

One, that was the first time anyone had thanked him for being a C-Sec officer. Sure, the occasional diplomat would thank him when given directions, and, memorably, one young asari, no taller than her mother's knee, thanked him for pulling a doll out of a tree after she launched it with an impressive show of biotics for her age. But people didn't thank him just for existing as an officer of Citadel Security. It was refreshing, even if nothing truly spectacular happened on the Presidium.

Number two, this was the most delicious smelling hot chocolate he'd ever been in the presence of. He took a careful sip, pleasantly surprised when it was just the right temperature, and stopped right there in the middle of the stairs leading down to the academy so he could fully enjoy the flavor. It was smooth and creamy, without being too rich, with hints of something nutty and robust. Not too sweet, and absolutely the best hot chocolate he'd ever had.

Sipping slowly, to make it last, he made his way to his sector's offices. All the non-commanding officers with patrols on the Presidium had desks in this bullpen, a place they could be available during non-patrol times and file paperwok from. Three other desks backed up to his own, and he honestly couldn't ask for better coworkers.

Tarn was at his desk, slowly punching a report into his computer terminal with a single talon, his other hand supporting his head as he leaned on the metal surface, eyes half shut with sleep he hadn't quite shaken off. He really was not a morning person, even _with_ the cannister of coffee sitting, already emptied, next to his keyboard. Garrus sat down at his computer, nodding hello to the sleepy turian, and logged into his terminal with one hand, not wanting to set his drink down where anyone could take it or knock it over or who knows what else.

"Hey Garrus, that smells good, what is it?" Garrus held his cup closer to his chest.

"It's mine." Tarn stopped typing, laying his face on his arms on the tabletop.

"C'mon, just a sip. Just something to help me wake up." Garrus shook his head, and laughed.

"No, Tarn, go get your own hot chocolate." Tarn sat straight up.

"But all the good places are too far away!"

"I got this one at the Novacreds just outside the markets." Tarn's mandibles flared.

"Don't drink that!"

Garrus tensed, but made no movement to set his cup down.

"What? Why?"

"Every turian that gets a drink from that place ends up sick!"

"Are we talking about that human-managed Novacreds over by the markets?" Dalia dropped her gym bag next to her chair. "That place is notoriously anti-turian." She leaned over Garrus' shoulder and took a sniff of his drink, which he tucked closer into his chest. "But that smells really good."

"And it tastes great!" Garrus defended. "She even remade it when she realized I was turian." His two turian tablemates cocked their heads simultaneously, fringes swaying in sync. "She said the cup wasn't marked, so she assumed it was for a human since _apparently_ turians don't order from there, but then she found the right chocolate and remade it."

"Okay now you _have_ to let me try it." Tarn began reaching over their tables, but Garrus moved the cup further away before he could grab it. While Tarn was stretching and Garrus was twitching his mandibles smugly, Dalia plucked it away from him and took a sip.

"That. Is amazing." She murmured, handing the cup over to Tarn who took a drink despite Garrus' protests. "Who made you that hot chocolate Garrus?" She got in his face, leaning over him with a hand on the back of his chair, causing him to grab at it as the front two feet came off the ground and he balanced precariously on the back legs. "I need to know who made you that drink, Garrus."

"It will take more than intimidation to make me talk!" He cried. If everyone knew where to go for hot chocolate, it would take forever to get his own.

"Tell me or pay the price."

"Uh, Dalia it _is_ one of the finest liquids I've ever consumed, no doubt about it. But you don't have to threaten Garrus." Tarn cut in.

"By pay," she continued, rolling her eyes and ignoring Tarn. "I mean that you will be financially responsible for supplying us all with our own cups each morning."

"Cups of what?" Nerossa asked, pulling her own desk chair out, completely unfazed by her coworker's antics.

"Cups of this amazing drink right here." Tarn said, handing the cup over.

"I can drink this?" Nerossa asked, eyeing it warily.

"No!" Garrus nearly begged.

"Yes!" Tarn said over him. "turian friendly chocolate!" Nerossa shrugged and took a sip. Then her eyes went wide.

"By the goddess, that is one of the best drinks I've ever had." She set the cup down on Garrus' desk. "You have to tell me where I can get that."

Garrus gave his three deskmates the evil eye, wondering how he could ever think they were good people.

"Fine!" He said, fed up with everyone drinking his hot chocolate. "The human who made it was wearing a nametag that read Shep. Runs all the machines singlehandedly and is ridiculously nice to the the rudest customers." Dalia finally leaned back, letting the front feet of Garrus' chair settle back on the ground as she did so.

"There, was that so hard?" Dalia gave him two pats on the shoulder and then sat down at her desk.

"Don't you have a perp to go interrogate?" Garrus grumbled, devastated to find the cup now three-quarters empty.

"That's right! Hey Nerossa, you want to join in? You did help me find the guy." Dalia began shoving her gym bag under her desk and pulling out a few different files.

"Of course, but I am sure you also want me there to lull the suspect into a false sense of security."

"Oh Nerossa," Dalia purred, grinning. "You know me so well." She gathered up her files, snatched Garrus' hot chocolate, and began sauntering away, Nerossa not far behind.

"What the-?" Garrus turned in his chair to yell at her as they walked through the bullpen doors. "You owe me a new hot chocolate!" Tarn laughed and gazed after the girls.

"I hope the cameras are running. I love it when turian suspects don't expect an asari to be able to understand their subvocals. They make the best faces."

"Well, that's what you get when you're raised by your turian father." Garrus grumbled, laying his cheek down on his desk and dangling his arms so his talons brushed the floor. “I miss my hot chocolate.” Tarn, much more awake now thanks to the excitement, shoved back from his desk and pulled up his omnitool.

“Garrus, buddy, you’re making me cry.” A ping went off on the mopey turian’s own omnitool. “Here’s some credits, go buy yourself another one before Klienna starts thinking your fake girlfriend died.” That made Garrus sit straight up. It had taken ages (and many, many lies) before he managed to get Klienna off his back. She wasn’t bad looking, but he wasn’t looking for anything serious right now and she was clingier than a drunken hanar.

“You’re my only friend, Tarn.” Garrus said, standing up to make his way back to his new favorite place on the citadel.


End file.
